Part of the Swedish Empire
History of Latvia between 1621 - 1721
During the Polish–Swedish War (1600–1629) Riga and the largest part of Duchy of Livonia came under Swedish rule in 1621. During the Swedish rule Vidzeme was known as the "Swedish Bread Basket" because it supplied the larger part of the Swedish Kingdom with wheat. The rest of Latvia stayed Polish until the second partition of Poland in 1793, when it became Russian.
In 1632 the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus founded Dorpat University which became the intellectual focus for population of Livonia. The translation of the whole Bible into Latvian in 1685 by Johann Ernst Glück was subsidized by the Swedish government. Also the schools for Latvian speaking peasantry were set up in the country parishes.
Riga was the second largest city in the Swedish Empire at the time. Together with other Baltic Sea dominions, Livonia served to secure the Swedish Dominium maris baltici. In contrast to Swedish Estonia, which had submitted to Swedish rule voluntarily in 1561 and where traditional local laws remained largely untouched, the uniformity policy was applied in Swedish Livonia under Karl XI of Sweden: serfdom was abolished in the estates owned by the Swedish crown, peasants were offered education and military, administrative or ecclesiastical careers, and nobles had to transfer domains to the king in the Great Reduction. These reforms were subsequently reversed by Peter I of Russia when he conquered Livonia.
Inflanty Voivodeship
After the Polish–Swedish War (1600–1629) only the Southeastern part of the Duchy of Livonia ramained under Polish-Lithuanian rule. The Catholicism became the dominant religion in this territory known as Inflanty or Latgale as a result of Counter-Reformation.
References: Wikipedia
Popular sites founded between 1621 and 1721 in Latvia
Mentzendorff House
Mentzendorff House, a subunit of the Museum of History and Navigation, with its 17-18th century atmosphere is the only museum of its kind in the Baltics. The exposition is set up in a building of 1695, which up to 1939 was a dwelling-house with a shop and warehouses. A dwelling-house museum renders the everyday life of wealthy Riga residents in the past. The unique ceiling and wall paintings of the 17th-18th centuries ha ...Skaistkalne Church
The Roman Catholic Skaistkalne Church (dedicated to Our Lady) was completed in 1692 and 1698. It is one one largest rural churches in Latvia and an early Baroque style masterpiece. It was one of the first Baroque style churches in Latvia. The icon of Our Miraculous Lady – the Protectress of Latvian Families – is found in the side altar of Skaistkalne shrine, people, especially newlyweds and families have pra ...St. Anne's Church
The Lutheran church of St. Anne (Anna) is the oldest building in Jelgava. The foundation act was approved in 1567 and the stone church was built during 1638-1641. An oak tree was planted next to the church in 1883, celebrating the 400th birthday of Martin Luther.Burtnieki Lutheran Church
The Lutheran church of Burtnieki is located on the Eastern bank of the lake. The first church was built there in 1234. It was a Catholic church, built from wood. It burned down and was replaced by a stone wall church between 1283-1287. It was destroyed in 1654, during the Polish-Russian War. The current church was built in 1688. Near the church is located a minister estate building complex, renovated in 1992. The estate ...Daugavgriva Castle Ruins
Daugavgrīva Castle was originally a monastery converted as a fortress by Swedish in the 17th century. Today there are no remnants of the medieval castle above the soil. In 1208 there was a Dünaburg castle built by the Teutonic Knights which initially served as a monastery. The Swedish fortress of Dünamünde, designed in a Dutch style by General Rothenburg in 1641, replaced the ruined Daugavgrīva C ...Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Lübeck Cathedral
Lübeck Cathedral is a large brick-built Lutheran cathedral in Lübeck, Germany and part of the Lübeck UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1173 Henry the Lion founded the cathedral to serve the Diocese of Lübeck, after the transfer in 1160 of the bishop's seat from Oldenburg in Holstein under bishop Gerold. The then Romanesque cathedral was completed around 1230, but between 1266 and 1335 it was converted into a Gothic-style building with side-aisles raised to the same height as the main aisle.
On the night of Palm Sunday (28–29 March) 1942 a Royal Air Force bombing raid destroyed a fifth of the town centre. Several bombs fell in the area around the church, causing the eastern vault of the quire to collapse and destroying the altar which dated from 1696. A fire from the neighbouring cathedral museum spread to the truss of the cathedral, and around noon on Palm Sunday the towers collapsed. An Arp Schnitger organ was lost in the flames. Nevertheless, a relatively large portion of the internal fittings was saved, including the cross and almost all of the medieval polyptychs. In 1946 a further collapse, of the gable of the north transept, destroyed the vestibule almost completely.
Reconstruction of the cathedral took several decades, as greater priority was given to the rebuilding of the Marienkirche. Work was completed only in 1982.
The cathedral is unique in that at 105 m, it is shorter than the tallest church in the city. This is the consequence of a power struggle between the church and the guilds.
The 17 m crucifix is the work of the Lübeck artist Bernt Notke. It was commissioned by the bishop of Lübeck, Albert II. Krummendiek, and erected in 1477. The carvings which decorate the rood screen are also by Notke.
Since the war, the famous altar of Hans Memling has been in the medieval collection of the St. Annen Museum, but notable polyptychs remain in the cathedral.
In the funeral chapels of the southern aisle are Baroque-era memorials by the Flemish sculptor Thomas Quellinus.